Rotatable vise having a selectively usable extension jaw



Nov. 1, 1955 P. R. DESFOSSES 2,722,147

ROTATABLE VISE HAVING A SELECTIVELY USABLE EXTENSION JAW Filed June 15, 1953 INVENTOR flTTOk/VEYS.

United States Patent O ROTATABLE VISE HAVING A SELECTIVELY USABLE EXTENSION JAW Philippe R. Desfosses, Port Hueneme, Calif. Application June 15, 1953, Serial No. 361,887 3 Claims. (CI. 8119) (Granted under Title 35, U. S. Code (1952), sec. 266) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

This invention relates to a vise for clamping a machine such as an electric generator while permitting it to be rotated on a horizontal axis to make its various parts accessible for inspection and servicing.

In a preferred form of the invention the vise is secured to and projects from a work bench or other support, and is provided with a fixed jaw and a movable jaw which are used to engage work pieces of different size, the jaws being rotatable as a unit to permit a workman to bring any desired surface of the work piece into a convenient location for inspection and other desired operations. The fixed jaw is provided with a hinged extension to enable the device to engage larger pieces of work.

An object of the invention is to provide apparatus of the type indicated which will be simple and economical to manufacture and efiicient in operation.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following description.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a device embodying the invention, with the jaws thereof positioned to retain a work piece, shown in dotted lines;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the vise and work piece rotated to another position;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing the jaws positioned to engage a larger work piece, not shown; and

Fig. 4 is a view in elevation of a modified form of support.

The apparatus shown in Figs. l-3 comprises a base plate formed with a tubular portion 12 and fixedly secured, as by bolts 14, to a stationary mounting such as a work bench 15. Rotatable within the tubular portion 12 is a shaft 16 having welded to its outer end a cross member 17. The inner end of the shaft is provided with a handle 18 which is connected thereto by a ratchet 20 so that the shaft may be manually rotated to any desired position. A compression spring 21 has its inner end bearing against a collar on the shaft 16 adjacent the ratchet end of handle 18 and its outer end bearing against an extension on the end of tubular portion 12, to provide frictional resistance to rotation of shaft 16.

Secured as by welding to the ends of member 17 are spaced plates 24, curved as shown and together forming the fixed jaw of the vise. A similar pair of plates 22 are hingedly related to member 17 and form a movable jaw of the vise. Pivoted to plates 24 are another pair of plates 26, designed to form an extension of plates 24 and together therewith forming a jaw to be used with work pieces of larger size. The several pairs of plates 22, 24 and 26 are secured together by spacing rods, the spacing rod for plates 26 being indicated at 28.

The several pairs of plates 22, 24 and 26 are joined together at their outer ends by rotatable cross bars 30, 32 and 34. The cross bar 30 is drilled and tapped to receive a screw 36 operated by means of a hand wheel 38. The cross bar 32 is formed with a slot to receive the outer, unthreaded portion of screw 36, a sleeve being mounted on the screw and shaped as shown to provide a bearing surface between the screw and the cross bar. The cross bar 34 is similarly slotted, as indicated at 42.

2,722,147 Patented Nov. 1, 1955 In the operation of the device, the handle 18 may be manipulated to rotate the vise until the fixed jaw 24 is in its lowermost position. The work piece, indicated at 44, may then be laid thereon, the screw 36 adjusted to proper position, and the movable jaw 22 brought into engagement with cross bar 32, and handwheel 38 turned until the jaws grip the work. The assembly may then be rotated by handle 18 to bring the work into the most convenient position for inspection and any other operation which may be desirable. For larger work pieces, the plates 26 are moved into position and the screw 36 and sleeve 40 brought into engagement with cross bar 34.

In the modified form of the invention shown in Fig. 4, the fixed plate 10 of Fig. 1 is replaced by a plate 46 which is fixedly secured, as by welding, to a cap 48 which is threadedly mounted on the threaded upper end of a pillar 50, which may be in the form of a pipe having its base fixedly secured to a stationary base 52. An annular serrated member 54, which may be in the form of a gear or cog wheel, is keyed to pillar 50 and is adapted to be engaged by a detent 56 pressed inwardly by a compression spring 58. The detent is radially slidable in a bracket 60 secured to plate 46 and is movable outwardly by means of a handle 62. By this means the assembly may be rotated about a vertical axis defined by rotation of cap 48 on the threads of collar 50, to move the work horizontally as desired.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. it is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed is:

l. A vise comprising a base plate formed with a tubular portion, means for securing said plate to a horizontal surface, a shaft rotatable in said tubular portion and having a T-shaped head, a handle having a ratchet connection to said shaft for rotating the shaft, a first jaw fixed to said head, a second jaw pivoted to said head, a third jaw pivoted to the first jaw at the rnidsection of the latter and operative to extend the reach of the latter, and threaded means for drawing said jaws together.

2. A vise comprising a fixed tubular support, a shaft rotatable in said support and having a T-shaped head, a handle connected to said shaft to rotate the same, a first jaw fixed to said head, a second jaw pivoted to said head, a third jaw pivoted to an intermediate point on said first jaw and operative to extend the reach of the latter, and threaded means for drawing said jaws together.

3. A vise comprising a fixed support provided with a bore, a shaft rotatable in said bore and having a T-shaped head, a handle connected to said shaft to rotate the same, a first jaw having one end fixed to said head, a second jaw having one end hingedly related to said head with its other end movable into and out of juxtaposition to the other end of the first jaw, a third jaw hinged to an intermediate point on the first jaw and operative to extend the reach of the latter, and means threadedly and pivotally related to the second jaw and selectively engageable with the first and third jaws for drawing the second jaw toward the first and third jaws.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 292,342 McMillan Jan. 22, 1884 1,370,705 Norton Mar. 8, 1921 2,106,525 Henry Jan. 25, 1938 2,489,547 Temple Nov. 29, 1949 2,621,400 Peterson Dec. 16, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 3,934 Great Britain Feb. 22, 1899 

